Essence of Bread

"This is about as simple as a bread recipe can be. It's great tasting, crusty, yeasty, coarse-textured, satisfying bread. I'm a guy, and I can make this perfect every time. This bread is the exact of opposite of all the other soft, fine-textured, preservative laden, over-priced supermarket breads. It's easiest if you use a stand-type mixer with bread hooks. If you don't have one, buy one. It'll be the most-used appliance in your kitchen, next to the toaster."

Directions

In the bowl of an upright mixer, combine the flour, yeast and salt; stir well to combine. Pour in the water; mix until a stiff dough forms. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in preheated oven for 15 minutes.

Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into two equal pieces and form into loaves. Place the loaves into two lightly greased 9x5 inch loaf pans. With very sharp knife, cut shallow slash in tops of loaves. Lightly dust loaves with flour, cover with towel, and put back in oven. Let rise until at least doubled, about 45 minutes. Remove loaves from oven, keep covered, and preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).

Return uncovered loaves to preheated oven. Bake until golden brown and loaves sound hollow when tapped on the top.

Most Helpful Positive Review

Feb 06, 2004

I had a birthday dinner for my cousin this past Sunday. All 4 of my guest and myself included really liked everything about this recipe. I gave everyone a small loaf to take home with them. It was simple and delicious! :)

Most Helpful Critical Review

Aug 18, 2005

The recipe was ALMOST all it promised. It was easy to make, yeasty, coarse-textured, but only slightly crusty, and a bit dense. Apparently, this is just not the recipe I was looking for. Although I added the salt, it must have needed more. Before today, I had never before sprinkled salt on bread, to make it taste good! I added 1/2 cup flour, because I wasn't sure the dough was supposed to be so very sticky. I thought maybe I should really add more, but didn't since this was the first time I've tried the recipe.

Nice and easy - I'll use this all the time for everyday bread.
If it is too yeasty for your taste, try proofing the yeast with a small amount of the water and adding a little bit of honey. The problem (if it was sticky) was probably not the yeast but the moisture content. Just add a bit of flour in and it'll come together just fine. Obviously using bread flour is important since AP really won't work here. A little butter or egg wash over the top might help the appearance a bit.

Too yeasty, when it comes together it is very sticky and cannot be kneaded properly - the Kitchenaid could not form it into a ball, odd directions. Too simple - needs more directions to clarify process and apperance of dough.

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

**Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.

(-)Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.